QUAKERTOWN – Facing elimination for the second and third consecutive games, the 15th-ranked East Stroudsburg University softball team took care of business with a 5-1 win over Seton Hill and a 9-1 victory over Kutztown on Friday afternoon at Veteran's Park to advance to PSAC Championship Saturday.
With the triumphs, the Warriors (45-14) set a new single-season record for wins and will look to defeat West Chester twice on Saturday to claim its second PSAC title in program history. The Griffins (37-17) and Golden Bears (33-22) are eliminated from the PSAC Tournament and await their NCAA Tournament fate on Monday morning during the NCAA Softball Selection Show.
ESU will face West Chester at Veteran's Park at 10:30 a.m. The Warriors will need to win both potential games, while a win for the Golden Rams would secure a PSAC Championship. The Warriors last hoisted a PSAC Championship in 1980.
Pitching Notables:
- ESU's pitching was dominant on Friday, with Paige Zigmund and Sarah Davenport combining to record a program-record 18 strikeouts against Seton Hill. Zigmund fanned eight batters through three innings against Seton Hill, while Davenport struck out 10 batters over the final four innings against the Griffins.
- Davenport picked up wins in both contests, pitching all five innings against Kutztown. The freshman tossed seven strikeouts against the Golden Bears, allowing two hits and one earned run. She was tossing a no-hitter through four innings and faced just two batters over the minimum.
- After setting the single-season program record of 187 strikeouts and becoming the first Warrior to reach 200 strikeouts in a single season, Davenport became the first Warrior to reach 300 strikeouts in a single season, now sitting with 302 strikeouts in just 173 innings of work.
- In nine innings on Friday, Davenport combined for a 0.78 ERA, allowing just two singles and one earned run. She fired 17 strikeouts and held the Griffins and Golden Bears to a .071 batting average against.
- The dynamic duo of Zigmund and Davenport combined to allow just five hits and two earned runs, with 25 strikeouts in 12 innings of action.
Batting Notables:
- As good as ESU's pitching was, the Warrior offense was just as potent, scoring 14 runs in 11 innings on the day. The Warriors compiled a .385 batting average against Seton Hill and Kutztown, with seven ESU players registering at least one RBI and four Warriors launching a home run.
- Abigail Weirich (4-6, 2B) smacked four RBIs and scored two runs.
- After leading a comeback on Thursday, Delaney Ridgell (3-6, HR 2 runs) smacked three RBIs, including a two-run home run against Kutztown.
- Denva Shaw-Tait (2-5, HR) and Samantha Derickson (1-4, HR) each blasted a home run and finished the day with two RBIs.
- Taylor Lipkins (4-7, 3B, 3 runs) and Reilly Vicendese (4-7, 2B, RBI, 2 runs) each recorded four hits.
- Kate Donaghue (1-3, HR) also belted a home run against the Golden Bears.
- Shannon Edelman also produced a run.
How It Happened – ESU 5, Seton Hill 1:
- From the first pitch, the Warriors seized momentum, with the PSAC Champion Scholar Lipkins smacking a leadoff triple. Vicendese followed through with an RBI single on the second pitch of the contest, as ESU jumped to a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1st.
- After a few scoreless frames, Seton Hill evened the contest in the top of the 4th with a leadoff home run by Camryn Murphy. Zigmund exited, and Davenport entered after the home run. Davenport stymied the Griffins from that point forward, striking out 10 of the 12 batters she faced without allowing a hit or walk.
- The fast-paced game saw ESU take the lead for good in the top of the 6th. A double by Vicendese put herself and Lipkins in scoring position. Weirich sent a two-RBI single up the middle to score both Warriors, as ESU jumped to a 3-1 lead.
- With Davenport dealing, ESU added a pair of insurance runs with a Derickson two-run home run to lift the Warriors to a 5-1 lead in the top of the 7th.
- Davenport fired three strikeouts to pick up her 24th victory.
How It Happened – ESU 9, Kutztown 1 (5 inn.):
- The Warriors took its momentum from the first game and immediately took control against Kutztown. The Warriors scored six runs on six hits, taking advantage of two Golden Bears' errors before conceding an out in the bottom of the 1st.
- ESU batted around in its first at-bats, with a two-RBI double by Weirich accounting for two runs.
- A fielder's choice RBI by Edelman accounted for the third run.
- Kutztown switched pitchers, but the results did not change. Ridgell crushed a two-run home run, with Shaw-Tait immediately following with a solo shot for back-to-back home runs for the Warriors to take a 6-0 lead.
- Ridgell added her third RBI of the game with a two-out RBI single to take a commanding 7-0 lead after the second inning.
- Donaghue led the bottom of the 3rd with a solo home run to take an 8-0 advantage.
- In the bottom of the fourth, Shaw-Tait smacked an RBI single to lift the Warriors to a 9-0 edge.
- Davenport's no-hit bid ended after 4.0 innings with a single to right field. Kutztown broke up the shutout with an RBI single, but the freshman settled to get the final two outs to pick up her 26th victory to advance ESU to PSAC Championship Saturday.
Up Next:
- ESU will need two wins against West Chester on Saturday to secure its second PSAC Championship in program history, last hoisting the trophy in 1980. The opening game is set for 10:30 a.m., while the if necessary PSAC Championship Game is set to begin 30 minutes after the final out of game one.
